Telling an Old Story in a New Way: Raid on Deerfield: The Many Stories of 1704

Juliet Jacobson, USA
Lynne Spichiger, Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, USA
http://www.1704.deerfield.history.museum

Session: Learning On-line and On-Site

Funded by both NEH and IMLS, The Raid on Deerfield: The Many Stories of 1704 Web site is a multi-cultural collaborative effort that commemorates and reinterprets the 1704 raid on Deerfield from the perspectives of the five different groups who were present at the event: Kanienkehaka (Mohawk), Wôbanakiak (Abenaki), Wendats (Huron), the French, and the English. A tabbed approach to the multiple perspectives allows learners to move quickly and easily among the different perspectives, facilitating comparison and enabling the telling of the story from conflicting points of view without the loss of coherence in the narrative. A layered approach to the content structure permits storytelling in small, understandable, compelling segments, supported by fuller context - thereby capturing the visitor's attention and providing a rich context to satisfy the casual observer, as well as the motivated visitor. Multiple paths through the content, both within the narrative context and from an indexed list or menu, accommodate different kinds of inquiry. Special features allow for different learning styles and promote active engagement with potentially unfamiliar and challenging primary sources.